Did Steven Avery series shift the conversation?

Steven Avery listens to testimony Feb. 21, 2007 in the courtroom at the Calumet County Courthouse in Chilton. Avery was convicted, along with his 17-year-old nephew, of killing Teresa Halbach, 25, after she went to the family's rural salvage lot to photograph a minivan they had for sale.(Photo: AP)

When it was announced last fall that Netflix would air a 10-part documentary about convicted killer Steven Avery, many people went online to register their disgust and offer sympathy for the victim, Teresa Halbach, and her family.

Since the airing of the series, "Making a Murderer," much of the online conversation has included questions about the strength of the cases against the two men, alleged misconduct on the part of law enforcement and whether Avery had been set up or framed.

Avery and Dassey were charged and later convicted in Halbach's 2005 homicide. Just two years before charges were filed against him, Avery had been exonerated in a rape case for which he spent 18 years in prison.

Halbach, a 25-year-old freelance photographer, went to Avery Auto Salvage in Manitowoc County on Halloween to photograph a van for Auto Trader Magazine. It was the last day she was seen alive.

The series, which has garnered worldwide media attention, closely follows Avery's defense attorneys, who question the credibility of the evidence and bring up the specter of police misconduct.

The filmmakers told Post-Crescent Media that they had reached out to the prosecutors, law enforcement and Halbach's family for a similar in-depth look at their experiences, but were turned down. The perspectives of those parties come out primarily through footage in the courtroom and at press conferences.

Demos and Ricciardi told Post-Crescent Media that they didn't come into the project with any preconceived notions about Avery's guilt. In the film, they raise questions — but don't presume to know the answers, they said.

"I would just say that it's possible to include someone's point of view without taking on the role of being an advocate for that person," Ricciardi said. "I mean, with the Avery family for instance or Steven Avery himself, we were open to including and listening to all sides. And just presenting someone's story or someone's point of view doesn't necessarily make the filmmaker an advocate."

The filmmakers see the series as an exploration of the forces at work in the criminal justice process and whether the system works as it should.

Many of the online commenters said they still believe Avery was guilty but others have voiced concerns about the evidence and whether he had been wrongfully convicted.

One person wrote on the Post-Crescent Media Facebook post, "It's frightening how many people are just content that 'somebody' is in prison for this with no regard for that person's actual guilt or innocence."

Of the shift in commentary, Demos said, "I think that that's encouraging that people are watching. I think it's an example of the dangers of being quick to judge something when you haven't seen something or when you don't know.

"And I know there were a lot of comments of why would I watch this series, we've had enough of this, this is disrespectful ... but I hear that mostly from people who haven't seen it and I encourage people to watch the series and then talk."